


A Season of Miracles

by lexiatel



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: AU, EWE, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-17
Updated: 2019-12-25
Packaged: 2021-02-26 05:13:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 17,075
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21838024
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lexiatel/pseuds/lexiatel
Summary: Hermione must tell Draco that he is the father of a suddenly motherless child. Will he refuse his new role as a father? Not if the miracle of Christmas has anything to do with it!
Relationships: Hermione Granger/Draco Malfoy
Comments: 30
Kudos: 181





	1. One

**Author's Note:**

> Merry Christmas! This is my third year writing a Dramione Christmas story, so I hope you enjoy! Don't forget to check out my other Christmas stories!
> 
> All chapters to this story are completed and will be released before Christmas! So be sure to click the follow button so you don't miss out!
> 
> *ArcanumFelis has been given the permission to translate this story to Polish.*

"So how many Knuts are in a Sickle again?"

Hermione hid a smile, watching the grown couple near her count their collective Knuts. Even though she had explained it several times, Mr. and Mrs. Portle couldn't seem to grasp onto the idea of the new currency they were being introduced to.

"Think of it as the money in a new role playing game that you're playing, Daddy," eleven-year-old Angela Portle began explaining to her father. Apparently this Muggle family was big on computer games. They had been comparing the wizarding shopping district in London to a village in their virtual, fantasy world all morning. "The Knut is a bronze coin, and twenty-nine of them make up a Sickle. Sickles are silver, and seventeen of them make up the gold coin which is called a Galleon!" The girl shook a handful of the coins in her hands. Her bright blue eyes sparkled with excitement over her newly found news of being a young witch who was due to attend Hogwarts the following year.

Hermione continued to assist the tiny family, educating them further about the Wizarding world that Angela would eventually be a part of. She was exhausted by the time 4:00 P.M ticked by, and her nose was numb from the bitter, mid December cold, but she was satisfied with what had been accomplished; Angela Portle was well equipped with what she would need for her first year of schooling, in both knowledge and supplies.

"Bye, Hermione!" the girl called out, when Hermione had bid her goodbye as she left the family's home with the girl's parents right behind her for their final words. "Thanks for the book!"

"You're very welcome, Angela." Hermione smiled with glee. She gave every Muggleborn child that was assigned to her a copy of _Hogwarts: A History_. It had been her favourite book since the day she herself had discovered that she was a witch, and she hoped others would find the read just as interesting as she did.

Out on the stoop, Hermione handed Mrs. Portle a book of stamps that had been specifically designed to send letters to and from the Muggle community for those who didn't own owls. "Feel free to write me if you ever need something."

"You've been so helpful, Hermione!" the woman said gratefully.

"It's always a pleasure," Hermione assured them. "I was once in Angela's position, so I know exactly what she's experiencing right now. My poor parents were clueless—" She burst into giggles and told them about the time her mother put on a random hat that had turned her into a mouse.

"I have no idea what we would have done without you!" Mrs. Portle exclaimed.

"Probably wandered into Diagonally and got stuck in some dark, possessed cabinet or trunk…" her husband said jokingly.

Mrs. Portle laughed. "Or come home with shrunken heads!"

"The Portles are all set," Hermione announced when she returned back to her office that she and her co-worker, Theo Nott, shared. They had worked together for the past three years, transitioning Muggleborn children and their families into the magical community. Theo and Hermione quickly became friends when they became a team. The man was intelligent and quiet. He was caring too, often thinking of others before himself, children especially.

Naturally, Hermione had been surprised when Theo had first been hired, since he had grown up thinking that magical blood was the only blood that should walk the earth, but she had quickly learned that his opinion of Pureblood supremacy had been quite different than he had let on. His father had not given Theo the option to have his own opinion, which he had finally been allowed to express when the elder Nott had been arrested for murdering a Muggleborn years ago. Hermione was happy to have gotten to know the real Theodore Nott.

Theo nodded, acknowledging her presence, but Hermione could tell that he was not exactly paying attention.

"Everything alright?" she questioned, abandoning her paperwork and pushing her desk chair toward his so that it rolled smoothly across the tile flooring and stopped by his side.

The man sighed, rubbing his forehead solemnly. "I've just encountered some terrible news…" His voice drifted off, and he shook his head in complete distraught.

Hermione slid to the edge of her chair, gently squeezing his knee in an attempt to comfort him. "What happened?" Her chest suddenly cramped up in sudden worry. "Is Luna okay?!"

Theo chuckled over the mentioning of his wife. "Oh, yes," he said. "Luna's absolutely perfect. She's a wee bit edgy right now; the healers have her on bed rest. You would think she could handle something like that, but no." Theo scratched his head as a smile tugged his lips. "I have never seen her so restless!"

Hermione matched his smile and gave her hand a tap to his knee. "It's just a couple more weeks before the baby is due, not much longer."

"Yeah." He went quiet, deep in thought.

"So… what's troubling you?" she wondered. "I mean, if you can't tell me, I'll understa—"

"No, it's not a secret or anything…" Theo cut her off, dragging a hand through his now messy hair. "It's just… it's devastating news, and with Christmas right around the corner, it really makes me thankful for the people that I have in my life."

Hermione nodded. She understood how hard it was to lose someone. She had lost her grandmother to cancer this past summer, and she was still struggling over the event, especially since Grandmother was big on Christmas, and this would be Hermione's first Christmas without her.

"So…" Hermione began slowly, "who died…?"

"Harry came in to alert me of this news right before you returned," he began hoarsely. "A witch named Jayden Crescent died in an automobile accident this morning." Theo's jaw set grimly. The corners of his eyes were starting to puff up with redness. "She's left behind a child," he finally finished.

Hermione leaned back into her chair, absorbing the alarming news. " _Oh…_ " she whispered, comprehending what had upset Theo. He had also lost his own mother around this time of year when he was a child. "That poor dear…"

"Christmas is just in a few days away… It's completely unfair…"

"Yeah," Hermione agreed.

"But I at least had my dad." Theo tilted his head in consideration. "Sure, he was a bigot, and it was his way or no way, but I at least had a _home_ … and he _loved_ me… This little _girl_ , she has _no_ one… and now she's homeless..."

"Jayden had no family then?"

Theo shook his head. "She was the last of the Crescent bloodline."

"What about the girl's father? Maybe there is family on his side?"

Theo shrugged. "Harry said her father is or was likely Muggle, and there's no way to find him."

"Well, you don't know for sure if he is Muggle," Hermione pointed out. "Maybe there was a wizard she had fornicated with…?"

"Not impossible, but highly doubtful. She had lived in Muggle London for the past nine years."

"Isn't there a way to check though? Just to be sure? I swear I've read about a spell that can find blood relatives..." Hermione scrunched up her face, thinking.

Theo stood up from his chair, lifting up his index finger. "Actually, there is, but I wouldn't expect much out of it, if I were you. The child is only six, and Jayden didn't spend much time in our world. She was fascinated with Muggles and their electronics."

"Well, it's worth a shot at least. With Christmas approaching, maybe there's a miracle lingering around."

Theo laughed. "You and your love for Christmas."

Hermione felt tears sting her eyes at a sudden memory of her grandmother. She blinked them away and inhaled a shuddering breath, standing up to join Theo. "Grandmother loved Christmas. If I were to turn into a Grinch, I'm sure she'd haunt me into submission!"

"No one needs a haunting grandmother!"

"Precisely!"

*/*

"This test will take two days to take effect," Hermione informed, looking up from the book she had been reading. "What's to be done with—" Hermione looked down at the paper that sat on Harry's desk "—Kamari until then?"

"Traditionally, she'd be placed into a home—"

"You mean an orphanage."

"Yeah…" Harry said cautiously, noting Hermione's grim tone. "The nearest one is over one thousand kilometers away though, _and_ it's full."

"And your home is also full," Hermione concluded. Harry usually didn't hesitate on helping those in need, so there had to be a reason why he wasn't going to temporarily home Kamari.

"We would normally take her, that's no big deal, but we've already bought the tickets—"

" _Oh_ , you're going to Copenhagen!" Hermione smacked her forehead. "I _completely_ forgot!"

Harry laughed. "It's alright! Don't fret about it!"

"But I _will_ fret about Kamari though…" Hermione chewed on her bottom lip. "What if… _I_ looked after her until the result is in...?" She didn't know exactly what to do to help, but Hermione didn't want the child staying at the Ministry until someone figured out where she could go.

Harry's smile widened. "I was hoping you'd suggest that!"

"You think it would be okay then?" she wondered with uncertainty. "I hardly have the space. My flat is only one-roomed."

"It's just for a couple of days." Harry shrugged.

"Well, what if the results show she has no family? What then?"

Harry sighed, having not thought about that. "We'll cross that road if it happens."

Hermione lifted her shoulders. "Alright," she decided abruptly. "I'll take Kamari home with me until we know what to do next."

Harry nodded in approval, and he led the way down the hall where Hermione gasped out in horror. "You didn't place her _In-holding_ , did you, Harry Potter?!" In-holding was a section of the Ministry where people (criminals specifically) were taken as they awaited their fate. It consisted of a bunch of prison cells that were cold, dingy and damp.

Harry scoffed. "I'm extremely insulted that you would think I'd do something so terrible, Hermione!"

"Can you blame me for thinking it though?!" she scolded as they passed the sign that informed them of where they were.

"I left her with Tracy," he explained his reasoning. "Her boy is here today, and he wanted to play with Kamari."

"Oh." Hermione let put a sigh of relief. She apologized for her ill assumption.

Tracy, the woman who did the checking in and out of those In-holding, greeted the two when they approached her counter. "Oh, she's just a _doll_!" she exclaimed, pointing to the small children who were playing on a floor mat behind her.

Kamari had golden blonde curls that dangled just passed her neck. She wore a red festive dress with white bows and dots and matching leggings.

"Hey, Kamari," Harry spoke softly to the girl, kneeling down to her level. "This is my friend, Hermione, and you're going to stay with her for a couple days. Alright?"

The six-year-old had large, round greyish eyes that clung to Hermione, assessing her over. They then flicked back to Harry.

"When do I get to see my mummy?"

Hermione's jaw set, and she had an extreme difficulty holding back a layer tears. This poor, little child didn't understand what was really going on.

"Remember what I told you earlier?" Harry asked.

Kamari looked at him blankly before she nodded slowly. "My mummy got hurt," she said, scratching at her leg. "She's gone now, and I must go with you, and I'm going to have a new home."

"That's right," Harry told her.

"So why aren't _you_ taking me home with you? Don't you want me? I'm really fun," Kamari assured him, "and I'm cute! Mummy always says so!"

Harry set his hand to her shoulder with a grin on his face. "Of course you're funny and cute, and there's a _massive_ list of _amazing_ people who want you, but Hermione needs you to keep her company, okay? She's all alone, and _no one_ should be alone during Christmas. Am I right?"

Kamari peeked around Harry to look at Hermione again. "She has _lots_ of hair!" she whispered loudly to Harry.

He laughed. "That she does!"

"What do you say, Kamari?" Hermione carefully eased herself into the conversation. "Would you like to spend a few of days with me?"

Kamari gave it a thought. "My mummy was supposed to help me write a letter to Santa Clause tonight," she informed, looking down at the floor sadly before lifting her head back up. "Will you help me instead? Since she can't anymore?"

Hermione forced a smile, swallowing down a forming lump in her throat. "Of _course_ I'll help you, precious."

"And will you make me noodies and cheese? Mummy always makes me that."

"Only if you tell me what that is," Hermione promised.

"Okay!" The girl ran over to a wall on her left where there was a packed suitcase and a stuffed bear. She attempted to pick up the luggage with a grunt, but she was only able to lift it up a mere inch before she allowed it to drop back down to the floor with a thud. "You might have to carry this for me," she advised Hermione. "It's _heavy_!"

Hermione laughed. "Sure, no problem!"

*/*

"Fancy seeing you here!"

Theo leaned forward to take a peek inside of Hermione's flat. He shivered from the bitter cold. "I heard through the grapevine that you took in the little girl who lost her mother."

"Kamari, yeah." Hermione opened the door wider so that her friend could step in and get out of the brutal winter weather. "She's reading a book I bought her."

Theo smiled. "Let me guess—"

"It's not _Hogwarts: A History_!" she giggled, rolling her eyes.

"Well that's _shocking_!"

"Hermione!" Kamari called out. "I don't know this word! Help me!"

Hermione tossed her head toward the girl who was on the sofa engrossed in sounding out the difficult word. "Did you want to meet her?"

Theo glanced at Kamari. He shook his head slightly. "I'm good. I just came by to see how you're faring."

"Hey, I can handle a kid!"

"Well, sure… but…" Theo stopped himself for a moment, lowering his voice so he couldn't be overheard. "Her circumstance isn't exactly _normal_."

Hermione nodded, knowing what he meant. "She seems to be handling it well."

"Give it time," he warned her. "It hasn't set in yet."

Hermione took in a slow breath. "Right," she acknowledged uneasily.

"If you need anything, don't hesitate to ask me, okay?"

"Thanks, and I will. Tell Luna I said hi!"

"Sure thing."

"Hermione," Kamari called out again, this time sighing in exasperation. She gathered the book up and stood from the sofa. "What _is_ this word?"

"Community," Hermione supplied after a quick look.

"Com-mun-ity," the girl repeated, emphasizing each syllable. She then closed the book with a snap. "Will you help me with my letter to Santa now?"

"Sure," Hermione offered, walking to a drawer of which she kept her stationary in and pulling out a sheet of parchment and a pen.

"That's a weird piece of paper," Kamari noted, climbing into one of the two chairs that Hermione had pulled out from her tiny dining table that sat in the kitchen part of her home.

"This is what magical people use," Hermione explained the old-fashioned paper. "Muggles bleach their writing paper, but we do not."

"Is that why the book you got me was yellow?" Kamari asked, speaking about the yellow-coloured pages.

"It is."

Kamari hovered over her sheet of parchment, absent-mindlessly nibbling on the tip of the pen, thinking of what she wanted to ask Santa Claus for.

"Mummy wants a new car— how do you spell 'wants'?"

"Aren't you going you ask Santa for what _you_ want?"

"I will," the girl said pointedly. "But Mummy is first. She always thinks about _me_ first, so now it's _my_ turn. And she needs something to cheer her up."

Hermione stuck her bottom lip into her mouth and chewed on it. She had no clue what to say to this little child. Her heart ached terribly for Kamari.

" _Hermione_?" Kamari stressed out, slightly annoyed.

"What is it, precious?" Hermione asked, attempting to clear her head. The night was nearly over, and she'd have to keep her cool for only a short while longer. Then, _hopefully_ , Kamari would start her new life and come to terms with the grand loss of her wonderful mother.

"How do you spell _'wants'_?"

"W-A-N-T-S."

Kamari took her time with printing the letters, wanting her penmanship to be positively perfect. "I want Santa to know that I have been working very hard this year," she told Hermione when the witch had complimented on how nice it looked.

"Will Mummy come visit me at my new home?" Kamari wondered with a tilted head as she concentrated on her writing.

Hermione rose up from her seat, rubbing her sickening stomach. She needed tea. No, actually she needed a Firewhiskey, but she wasn't going to drink around a child. She quickly busied herself and changed the subject to distract Kamari.

"So, do you like hot chocolate?"

"Yes!" the girl squealed. "Do you have any?"

"I most certainly do! Do you like it with whipping cream or marshmallows?"

"Marshmallows!"

Hermione prepared the said treat and placed it down for Kamari to drink. It was quiet as the two sipped their hot beverages, with Hermione in deep pity of the child next to her, and Kamari pondering about her letter.

"I want an angel," Kamari finally broke the silence, wiping a layer of chocolate from her upper lip with a sleeve.

"An angel?" Hermione questioned, setting down her tea. "What kind of an angel?"

"One that goes at the top of a Christmas tree! Ours broke last year, and we don't have a topper anymore!"

Hermione nodded slowly, darting her eyes around her undecorated flat. Her grandmother would have crucified her if she had been alive and walked in. She hadn't thought to decorate her home yet, having been busy with her work. Hermione was honestly surprised that Kamari hadn't noted the lack of festivity in the flat. She'd have to fix that.

*/*

"Hermione?"

Hermione stirred awake and lifted her head up. She groaned at the neck pain that had been caused from sleeping on the sofa (she had given the child her bed to sleep in). "Yes, precious?" she asked with a groggy voice, eyeing the clock across the way. It was only two in the morning.

"Can't I see my mummy now?"

Hermione sat up and attempted to rub the sleep from her eyes. "Do you remember what Harry told you?"

"My mummy is hurt, but I want to see her. I want to hug her and give her a kiss, and I want to tell her that I love her."

"I'm sorry, Kamari, but you can't do that."

Kamari stood there, shifting her foot. She lifted up her shoulders in confusion. "Why can't I see her? _Where_ is she?"

"Come here." Hermione patted the seat next to her, inviting Kamari to sit with her. "Have you ever heard of heaven?" she asked once the girl was snuggled up next to her.

Kamari nodded. "We used to have a cat named Felix, but he got real sick, and Mummy said that he went to heaven. I never saw him again."

"Well, your Mummy is in heaven now, with Felix."

"So, she died?" Kamari's voice had gotten so quiet and soft that Hermione barely made out the question.

Hermione squeezed the child to her. "Yes, precious… She's gone, and she's in heaven now, watching over you."

Kamari didn't say anything for several moments. Hermione guessed that she was in shock.

"Am I an orphan now?" Kamari said through a quiet sniff. "Am I like Annie and Oliver Twist?"

The question left Hermione perplexed. She didn't know how to answer it. Surely she didn't want to lie to the child, but she also didn't want to get Kamari's hopes up over the possibility of having a father when no one knew if she had one or not.

"We're going to find you a good home, Kamari," Hermione answered as honestly as she could.

"Hermione?"

"Hmm?"

Kamari pulled from Hermione so that she could look her in the eyes. "This is a good home," she said, "Can't I live with you?"

Hermione's throat clenched up uncomfortably. Kamari was so sweet and innocent, she really didn't deserve such a tragedy.

"Oh, precious," Hermione started soothingly. "I'm not sure that I can."

Kamari's face lowered sadly, and Hermione about burst into tears. "I don't take up much room, and I'm a _very_ good girl!"

Hermione took the girl into a hug. "Yes, Kamari, yes you are."

"Why doesn't anyone want me?" the little girl wondered, sounding like she was ready to cry. Before Hermione could correct her, Kamari wailed out, "I want my mummy! _She_ would want me!" The tears finally let loose, and the girl shook with each sob as she cried in Hermione's arms.

Nearly an hour later, Hermione brushed the golden curls from the sleeping child's forehead. She squeezed her eyes shut, forbidden herself to cry. With a sniff, she kissed the tiny forehead, vowing to find Kamari the perfect new home that she deserved.


	2. Two

"Oh, Hermione!" Kamari squealed, jumping up and down next to the woman. She pointed high above her, causing Hermione to look up to see what had caught the girl's attention.

Hermione gasped at the angel tree topper that was two shelves above her head. The angel was dressed in a golden robe, holding a red candle that had an actual flame lit. The magical fire changed colours from red to green.

"It's beautiful!" Hermione breathed.

"Can we get it?!" Kamari asked excitedly.

"We are definitely getting that, yes!" Hermione said, fishing out her wand to lower it down into her reach. Before she had a chance to cast the spell though, someone had approached them and taken the exact angel that they had wanted. And unfortunately for Hermione and Kamari, it was the last angel of its kind.

"Um, we are in the process of getting that," Hermione politely told the person, but as soon as the man turned around to confront her, she knew it was a lost cause.

"Given that it's so late in the season, you would think that someone with your intellect level would know to shop earlier to avoid the Christmas rush."

Hermione pursed her lips, refraining from tossing an ugly insult at Draco Malfoy while Kamari was present. He had not changed a bit since he was a teen, and occasionally, Hermione had the misfortune of crossing paths with him. Usually, she just ignored the twit, but not today.

"Surely you can afford a more extravagant piece of work?" she countered.

The wretched man smirked and tucked the beautiful angel under his arm. "It's the thought that matters, isn't that right, Granger?" He then turned on his heel, leaving Hermione there to stew on the fact that he had gotten exactly what he had wanted yet again.

Hermione huffed out, irritated. That angel would have looked positively perfect on the tree that she and Kamari were decorating!

"It's okay, Hermione" Kamari assured the witch, tugging on her coat gently. "We could get a star instead."

Hermione smiled down at the sweet, thoughtful six-year-old. "Okay," Hermione forced herself to say, hiding the heavy hatred that she had for the selfish, self-entitled Draco Malfoy.

They settled on a light up, glittery red star, and with a few more purchases, the two were ready to go back to Hermione's flat and get to decorating.

"I've never done this before," Kamari stated, squeezing a dab of icing onto a gingerbread girl cookie. She delicately placed a gumdrop on top of the dab so that it would stick.

"Really?" Hermione was shocked. It sounded like Jayden had quite the holiday spirit when she was alive.

"Mummy couldn't really cook biscuits without burning them," Kamari informed with a laugh. Then she frowned immediately and went quiet, arranging the candies on her biscuit.

Hermione cleared her throat, trying to come up with something that would cheer up the little girl. "My mother isn't much of a baker either. Actually, she hardly allowed me many sweets when I was young."

"Why not?"

"Both my mum and dad are dentists. Sweets are bad for your teeth, so they disapproved of them."

"Oh." Kamari's nose scrunched up. "That's no fun!"

"They were good parents and still are, but I got most of my sweets from my Grandmother."

"She taught you how to cook then?"

"Yes, she did. We used to bake all sorts of biscuits during the holidays, which drove my parents crazy!"

"You must miss her a lot."

"Yeah," Hermione said quietly. She took a bare biscuit from a platter and iced an outline on it, deciding that she was going to make an old lady biscuit to represent her grandmother.

"This one is going to be my mummy," Kamari said after Hermione told her what she was doing with her current biscuit.

Hermione giggled, amused that the girl wanted to copy her idea. "Is that so?"

"Yes, but we don't have black icing— she always wore a black shirt— so I'll just use brown."

"Sounds like a plan," Hermione complimented.

When the biscuits were finished, Hermione lined them up on a tray so that they could dry. Once the icing was set, they were going to thread twine through them and hang them on the tree as ornaments.

Of course they set aside a couple to eat!

With the tree nearly decorated, Kamari helped Hermione string up some garland around the room and door frame. They had made it from paper and drew little seasonal characters on them and had written festive greetings.

Hermione was in the middle of tacking up a row of assorted stockings on the wall (her flat lacked an actual fireplace) when she heard a knock on her door. On her way to answer the it, Hermione scratched the ears of Crookshanks as she passed the sofa where the feline was lounging.

"The result is in," Theo announced, holding out a folded sheet of parchment to her.

Hermione slipped outside, shutting the door behind her, not wanting Kamari to overhear. "So?" she asked eagerly, unfolding the parchment.

"She _does_ have a father in our community," he told her in deep relief.

"And do we know who he is?" Hermione scanned the page, reading the parchment, her shoulders slumped when her eyes set on the name of Kamari's father.

_Draco Malfoy; living. Place of residence: Whitshire, England._

"Is this a joke?" Hermione questioned, absolutely dumbfounded.

"It is not…" Theo assured her, appearing indifferent with the news.

"Oh, gosh!" Hermione gasped. She giggled, finding the idea of "perfect, pureblood Draco Malfoy" fathering a child out of wedlock amusing. "Do you realize how _massive_ this is?! The reporters will go _bananas_!"

"Which is why we need to keep this hush-hush," Theo said firmly.

Hermione's face deadpanned. "Oh, you're right…" As much as she would love Malfoy's charming, little life to be dragged in the mud over a scoundrel, it wouldn't be a healthy life for Kamari.

"Wait," Hermione said slowly, horrified over a sudden thought. "He's not going to want Kamari."

"Now you don't really know that."

Hermione rolled her eyes. "He's a manchild, Theo, he has little-to-no responsibility! I mean this is a prime example right here! He more than likely rejected that poor little girl years ago!"

"Let's not assume anything just yet," Theo spoke rationally. "Even if that is a fact, he should know that Kamari is motherless now, then we'll see if he wants to step up and be a man."

"And when he doesn't?"

" _If_ he doesn't, we'll decide what to do then."

Hermione huffed, crossing her arms. "Malfoy is going to think just the _idea_ of a daughter will ruin his life!"

Theo shook his head. The corners of his lips stretched out slightly into a smile. "Come now, what about that Christmas miracle you were telling me about? Maybe this is exactly what he needs."

"I doubt it," Hermione grumbled. She had no other choice but to give the man a chance though. He _was_ Kamari's father after all. It was indeed his right to know about the girl's recent status.

*/*

The old fashioned, high-pitched ring of the Malfoy Manor's doorbell echoed into the quiet, winter evening. It was just about dusk, but the fairy lights that had decorated the enormous building provided a beautiful, luxurious source of lighting. If it had been anyone else, Hermione would have been excited with the elaborate festivity, but speaking with Malfoy had never been a pleasant moment, and this time wouldn't be any different.

"Hello, Miss Granger," a house-elf greeted her. Hermione hadn't actually met this creature before, but she was in the occasional _Daily_ _Prophet_ article, so she assumed that the elf knew of her from the news. "What brings you here, miss?"

"Is Draco available? I have some important news for him."

"Chirpy will see if he will speak with you."

"Tell him it has to do with Jayden Crescent— maybe he'll remember her."

"I will. Chirpy will come back and say either way."

"Thank you," Hermione said politely.

"It's no problem. Wait here, if you would." With a pop, the house-elf was gone.

Hermione admired the glorious, decorative display, and muttered to herself that it was probably all put together by the hard labour of a dozen house-elves.

"He says you may come in, but Chirpy wishes to not repeat everything he said," Chirpy told Hermione when he returned.

"That's quite alright, Chirpy. The feeling is completely mutual, trust me."

Chirpy made no reply to that and instead led Hermione down the path to the entrance of the Manor where they entered a foyer. Hermione only ever seen pictures of the inside of Malfoy Manor, and no picture could ever do it justice. The sight of the decorated foyer was breathtaking. Freshly waxed wood flooring stretched out beneath her with a dark green and red carpet run to walk on. Sparkling, silver garland made of snowflakes strung along the walls and entryway, and on each side of the foyer, stood an extremely tall, floor-to-ceiling Christmas tree with white, slow-paced blinking lights and red bows.

"It's so beautiful," she whispered, her voice lost. The last time she had seen such beauty was her final year at Hogwarts.

"It always is during this time of year," Chirpy said cheerfully, and he continued escorting her to wherever she was supposed to meet Malfoy at.

Finally, after two lengthy levels of stairs, Chirpy stopped at an open door to a large room with eight, identical chairs that were placed in a half circle around an extra long coffee table.

"Sir, Miss Granger enters," Chirpy announced Hermione's arrival. The house-elf then bowed, and outstretched an arm, making Hermione guess that it was her cue to step into the room.

"Thank you," she mouthed to the elf who smiled in gratitude at her kindness.

Malfoy was seated in one of the over-sized, black leather chairs. He sipped from a glass, watching her every move as she walked in.

"Have a seat," he offered, gesturing to one of the many chairs.

"This shouldn't take long," she advised him, stiffly taking a seat.

"It's customary to offer my guests a drink."

"I'm not a guest," she stated flatly.

He tilted his head and shrugged haughtily. "What brings you here, Granger?"

"I hope you remember Jayden Crescent?"

"I may have spoken with her a few times in my life, yes," he said, nodding.

"You've certainly done more than just _speak_ with her."

Malfoy lifted up an eyebrow. "And just what do you mean by that?"

Hermione cleared her throat and took out the piece of parchment that Theo had given her. "Jayden died the yesterday, Malfoy. She left something— er, rather some _one_ behind." She stretched out her arm for Malfoy to take it. He stared her right in the eye for a few seconds before his curiosity won over, and he leaned toward her, swiping the parchment from her.

Malfoy said nothing after he read the test result, and his eyes went out of focus. "Impossible," he said when he finally came to his senses.

"Did you or did you not have sexual relations with Jayden Crescent?" Hermione asked bluntly.

"How is that even your business?"

Hermione leaned forward in the chair. "The test is not wrong, Malfoy. There is a little girl who just lost her mother, and now you need to decide if you want to do the right thing or not. If not, then it _is_ my job— my _business_ , as you put it— to find her a family who _will_ take care of her."

Malfoy's jaw set firmly. He looked across the way, absent-mindlessly drinking the rest of whatever was in his glass. "How much time do I have?" He didn't even look at her when he asked the question.

Hermione blinked her eyes, confused. "Time? What do you mean?"

"To decide if I want to be a father or not."

"You want to _think_ about if you're going to keep the child that _you_ brought into this world?" She was absolutely baffled by his audacity!

"Granger, not like I owe you any sort of explanation, but let me set you straight here: _I_ did not bring that girl into this world; that was _entirely_ Jayden's doing."

"She didn't do it on her own," Hermione argued. "She can't create a baby without just a _little_ bit of help!"

"That's funny," Malfoy remarked with sarcasm, "I do not recall you being there— were you there in the shadows, _peeping_ on us? Is that something you enjoy doing, Granger? Do you _like_ watching people while they perform their most _intimate_ of actions? Does that _excite_ you?"

Hermione felt a heat rise to her cheeks. "No, of course not!" she flustered. "I just meant—"

"Forget it, I don't particularly care what you meant," Malfoy interrupted her, raising his hand to change the subject. "I'll rephrase the question, since it was too hard for you to grasp the first time: how much time do I have to make a decision on whether or not I want to take on the role of this child's father?"

Hermione shook her head, unable to provide a definite answer. Neither she nor Theo had expected Malfoy to want some time to think on it. Hermione had been certain that he was going to say a flat out no, where Theo had hoped for the opposite. "Well, she's currently staying with me. I guess I can have her over the holiday."

"She was the girl with you in the shop then? Yesterday?"

Hermione nodded. "She's…" Hermione swallowed hard, suddenly feeling bad for Kamari. Having Draco Malfoy for your father would be terrible, but to have him abandon you simply because it would ruin his reputation? It was an incredibly horrible thought!

" _Granger_?"

Hermione pursed her lips. " _What_?" she snapped, bitter over the thought of Malfoy not even giving his daughter a chance.

Malfoy's eyes narrowed, noticing her tone. "I asked you what her name was."

"Oh…" Well, that shocked her. Hermione hadn't thought that he would care at all. "Her name is Kamari, and she's six-years-old."

"I see," he noted slowly. Then he stood up. "Well, thank you for alerting me of this dilemma, I'm sure this wasn't how you wanted to spend your evening."

"Kamari is not a _dilemma_ , Malfoy," Hermione corrected him sternly. "She's a sweet, considerate and caring little girl, and frankly, I don't exactly know _what_ she inherited from you, because you possess none of these qualities!"

Malfoy squared off his shoulders with a scowl, apparently insulted by what she had said, but Hermione didn't care, it felt good to finally tell him off!

"You may think you know everything about me, Granger, but you're no different than anyone else; everyone is so bloody quick to judge me, and none of you really have any sort of clue about me."

"And you think that you don't contribute to these opinions of you? You flaunt your money any chance that you get, and you just can't avoid jabbing an insult whenever the opportunity arises! Maybe people wouldn't make such assumptions if you weren't such a jerk!"

Malfoy's eyes rolled up toward the ceiling where he let out a chuckle. "Sounds like you may still be stuck in the past."

" _Past_?" she squeaked. "Are you trying to tell me that you changed from the obnoxious bully that you were in school?! Cause I certainly haven't seen a different side of you! You're still that same Pureblood twit that you were in school!"

Malfoy narrowed his eyes and folded his arms across his chest. "Could it possibly be because you don't _want_ to see it? It _is_ a high probability that you may have grown into a stuck-up _bitch_."

Hermione uprooted from the chair, ready for this visit to be over. "I'll let myself out, thank you— if you don't want Kamari, Malfoy, that's fine, there are plenty of couples looking to adopt a child. Heck, I'd take her in, but she deserves much more than what I could give, and to be truthful, she deserves more than _you_ could ever offer her, so you rejecting your responsibility is probably for the best!" And with that, she stormed out of the room, making her way back down to the foyer.


	3. Three

"That bad, eh?" Theo asked when Hermione returned back to her flat. The wizard had offered to look after Kamari while she made the trip, he was currently trying to teach her how to play chess.

"He _infuriates_ me!" Hermione groaned, dropping into her sofa.

"He's an acquired taste, that's for sure. So, I'm guessing he said no?"

"King me!" Kamari cut in with a huge grin.

"No, baby, we don't king players in this game, remember?" Theo reminded her gently.

"This game is too hard!" Kamari said and got up from the floor where they were playing at and grabbed a book off the shelf, reading it out loud to herself.

Theo put the game away and joined Hermione on the sofa. "So what he'd do this time?"

"He said he wanted to _think_ about it! Can you believe that?"

Theo shrugged. "It's a big decision, and he's never been a father. I can understand his reasoning. At least he didn't say no, right? That's a step further than you had originally expected."

Hermione chewed on the inside of her lip. She didn't say anything to Theo, but she wondered if she and Malfoy's little squabble will now persuade Malfoy's mind toward refusing Kamari. On one hand, Hermione felt that he should take Kamari and do the right thing, but on the other hand, she really didn't think he'd be a good father. He couldn't possibly give Kamari the love that she needed.

The next morning, Hermione made Kamari a small stack of flapjacks. They were allegedly her favourite breakfast food, and she had informed Hermione that she used to have them all the time at her school.

As Hermione was worrying about Kamari's primary education now that she had been pulled from the Muggle world, the doorbell rang. Hermione turned off the fryer pan, not wanting to burn her own flapjack, and rushed to the door. She about jumped when she saw who was standing there, having not expected him.

"Malfoy!" she gasped, somewhat breathless.

"Nice pjs, Granger," he complimented sarcastically, smiling at her two-piece snowman printed sleepwear.

She threw on a jacket and told Kamari to stay seated at the table while she was out.

"What are you doing here?" she demanded. Her teeth chattered together, an effect of the cold air.

"I was up all night," he explained, and Hermione noticed right then that he looked dog-dead tired. He dropped his gaze to the ground, tucking his hands into his robes for warmth. She noted that he appeared quite uncomfortable.

"You've been thinking," she summarized.

He lifted up a shoulder nonchalantly. "After my father died, I never intended to extend the bloodline," he spoke softly.

"Really?" This was news to Hermione, though it explained why he had never gotten married. "Why not?"

His eyes lifted up off the ground, and he puffed out a breath of visible air. "You said so yourself last night; I am not really much _deserving_. Who would want me as their father and husband?"

Hermione pursed her lips. A knot of guilt formed in the pit of her stomach. She hadn't realized that he thought so low of himself. "I was out of line last night. I let my emotions get the best of me. For that, I—" She stopped herself quickly. What in the world was wrong with her?! Was she about to apologize to _Draco Malfoy_?!

Yes, she decided. Yes, she was. But she had to get it out quickly before she changed her mind.

"I'm sorry."

He chuckled. "I supposed I should apologize for my own monstrous tongue."

"Right," Hermione agreed slowly, scratching at an itch at her neck.

"So, I apologize for what I said last night," he told her, tilting his head a bit. " _And_ for picking on you all those years at Hogwarts."

Hermione about fainted. Malfoy's apology wasn't forced. He actually sounded... _genuine_.

"I guess I can accept your apology," she said uneasily, not exactly knowing what else to say. She was still in shock that Malfoy was capable of acting human. Perhaps he _did_ have a different side of him, and he was finally allowing her to see it.

Or maybe she _had_ been too blind to see it before. He might have been right the night before. She _could_ have been stuck in the past.

"So why are you standing on my doorstep? Have you made your decision?"

"I believe that I have," he said, but he didn't sound all too convincing.

"Would you like to meet Kamari?" Hermione offered.

"How do you know I'm not here to tell you that I don't want to be a father?"

Hermione sent him a look. "I honestly doubt you'd make a house visit to tell me _that_."

Malfoy rubbed his chin, glancing off into the distance of the quiet neighborhood that Hermione lived in. He appeared to be on the verge of making an escape.

"Come on," Hermione said coaxingly, snatching a hold of his fancy winter robes and opening the door to her flat in one swift movement. "She doesn't bite."

Malfoy didn't fight her, allowing himself to be pulled into the welcoming, warm home.

"I didn't move, Hermione," Kamari told her proudly. Her plate was empty, and Hermione smiled as she put her coat back on its hook. That girl could eat more than a horse!

"Kamari, this is…" Hermione paused, meeting Malfoy's eyes, unsure how he really wanted to go about this.

Malfoy cleared his throat and removed his outer robes, draping it over his forearm. "I knew your mother," he said to the child.

"Were you one of her friends?" Kamari wondered.

"I suppose so," he answered indifferently. "We went to school together."

"Would you like some flapjacks? I mean," she looked at Hermione for permission, "is it okay that he has some?"

"Sure it is, precious." She took Malfoy's robes from him. "Go sit down. Have breakfast with Kamari."

Malfoy hesitated, and Kamari had to call him over before he finally moved and quietly settled across from his daughter at the table.

Hermione reheated the flapjacks with a simple spell and put three of them onto a plate for Malfoy, but the man barely noticed what she had done. He was staring at the girl.

"You look so much like your mother," he finally said, reaching for a fork.

"Yeah! Mummy tells me that all the time!"

"Did she ever talk to you about your father?"

Hermione watched from her spot nearby at the stove, heating her frypan back up so that she could cook the other side of her flapjack that had gotten interrupted.

"She told me that I do not have a daddy."

Malfoy took a bite of his breakfast, chewing it thoroughly before he asked, "Have you ever wanted a father?"

Kamari rolled her eyes. "Don't we all want something that we can't have?"

Malfoy raised his eyebrows and sat back in the chair. He then smiled. "I suppose you make a good point."

"Mummy didn't want to get married, but she wanted me, so she said that she asked Santa for me, and then—nine months later— I was born!"

Malfoy laughed. "So that's exactly how it went, huh?"

"Yup!"

"I heard your mother was into Muggle computers."

"She programmed a website all by herself!"

"Impressive!"

Hermione hid a smile, knowing that Malfoy had _no_ idea what a website was. She had to give the wizard credit, he was treating Kamari fairly well.

"She was self-empowered!"

"Employed, precious," Hermione corrected with a giggle. "She was self-employed."

"Yes, employed. I'm going to be self-employed too. That means I work for myself."

"You can be whatever you want to be. Don't let anyone tell you differently," Malfoy told her.

"I won't," Kamari said sternly. "Did you like your flapjacks?" Malfoy had emptied his plate rather quickly.

"I most certainly did. Granger is a marvelous cook."

Hermione, who had been busy dousing her own flapjack with syrup, snapped her head to gawk at Malfoy who had given her an amazing compliment. He wasn't paying her an ounce of attention though, his focus was on Kamari.

"Yeah, her grandmother taught her how to cook," Kamari informed. "She's with my mummy. They both died."

Malfoy glanced at Hermione with a faint frown, and Hermione smiled down at the sweet girl before reaching to clean up the mess from the table.

"Hermione is going to teach me how to make Christmas cards— would you like to learn too?"

"Oh, precious, there's not enough room for that here!" Hermione said regrettably, giving Malfoy a way out. She didn't know what he had planned that day, and Hermione knew she would have to talk to him more about Kamari.

"We could do it at my place," Malfoy offered.

"Your place?" Kamari asked. "It is bigger than here?"

"Oh _extremely_ ," he emphasized. "Like a _thousand_ times bigger."

The girl's eyes widened. "Your _home_ is that big?" she squeaked in disbelief. "You must be _rich_!"

"I'm the wealthiest wizard in this region."

Kamari cocked her head. "You're Bill Gates rich!"

Hermione tried holding back a laugh, but it escaped and sounded much like a snort. Malfoy turned his head to stare at her, and he lifted up an eyebrow. " _Who_ is Bill Gates?" he asked her directly.

"He was the owner of a company that designed a popular computer operating—" Hermione couldn't continue, the look on Malfoy's face made her burst into giggles, and then Kamari did it, simply because she found Hermione's laughing amusing.

Malfoy sat there, shaking his head. "I absolutely missed the joke!"

"I think she's making fun of you!" Kamari attempted to whisper, but she failed, stuck in a series of giggles. "It's a Muggle thing," the girl explained, flipping her wrist as a gesture to ward off the topic. "You wouldn't understand!"

Hermione's laughter deepened, and she struggled to breathe as tears squeezed out of her watery eyes. By the time she caught her breath, she noticed that Malfoy's lips were stretched out into a smile while he watched her through her fit.

"I'm sorry!" she said, pulling herself together. "But the look on your face, it was too funny— I wasn't making fun of you!"

"Hermione!" Kamari scolded, shaking an index finger at her. She turned to Malfoy. "She was so making fun of you, but she wasn't being _mean_ about it! You _did_ look silly!"

Malfoy learned forward over the table some, as if he was about to share a secret with Kamari. "Not as silly as she sounded when she was _wheezing_ from lack of air," Malfoy said, laughing strongly when the girl giggled.

Hermione wiped away the lingering tears of her laughter. "Kamari," she addressed the girl with a slightly more serious tone. "Would you like to go with Malfoy to his house and make Christmas cards?"

"I most surely would!" Kamari said excitedly. "We can all make cards together! I'm going to draw a _snowman_!"

"I was thinking that perhaps Malfoy can take you on his own. I've got an errand to run."

"You mean you're not going to come with us?" The girl suddenly sounded sad. "But you said you were going to teach me!"

"Yes, Granger, we need you there to teach us. _I_ don't know how to make greeting cards. I have never made one before!"

Hermione folded her arms across her chest. "Do you _actually_ want me there?"

"Yes!" Kamari answered, but it wasn't Kamari who she wanted to hear from, it was Malfoy. Hermione had thought that he would want to get to know his daughter without her being in the way, and this was the perfect excuse to exercise it.

Malfoy shrugged. "The way I see it, you're the only one who knows how to handmake the cards. Imagine the _rubbish_ we'd create without your help."

Hermione let out a hum of doubt, and she tapped her foot. It seemed highly unlikely that Malfoy would want her tagging along, but one look at Kamari's precious face was all that she needed to cave.

"Alright then," she agreed reluctantly, and she pointed a finger firmly at Malfoy. "But I don't want to hear one word from you if the day turns out horribly!"

"Don't make me do an unbreakable vow now," he countered jokingly, making her roll her eyes.


	4. Four

"Wow," Kamari gasped out in awe at the sight of Malfoy's home when they arrived after apparating to the outside of it. "You _really_ live here?!"

"Since the day I was born," Malfoy answered. He tried hiding in a smile, but he failed tremendously.

"How many other people live here?" the girl wondered.

"Well, my mother does off and on, but besides me and the house elves, no one."

"What are house elves?"

"They're his slaves," Hermione answered, sending an unenthused look toward the man who shook his head, finding her opinion about house elves ridiculous. "Tell me I'm wrong," she challenged him.

"You have slaves?" Kamari asked in complete disapproval, crossing her arms. "That's criminal!"

"I _don't_ have slaves," Malfoy said firmly.

"Do you pay them?"

"No…" he slowly answered his daughter.

"Then they are slaves!"

Hermione sent Malfoy a smug look when his lips thinned.

"It's a kind of magic that you don't understand," he told Kamari.

"It's a kind of magic that needs to be outlawed," she encountered with a huff.

"Are you sure this kid isn't yours?" Malfoy murmured to Hermione, making her laugh.

Malfoy gave Hermione and Kamari a tour of the first level of his home before leading them into an office. This was the place that they were going to making their Christmas cards in. The large desk was a dark, shiny polished brown, and there were black chairs. Bookshelves sat on either side of an enormous radius window.

Malfoy grabbed two extra chairs and crowded them around the desk so that they could all be seated. Hermione emptied the bag that she had brought, organizing the materials that they would need.

"First, we decide who the cards will go to," Hermione told them. "Mine is going to Luna Notts, she needs a little bit of cheering up."

Kamari thought long and hard before she settled on giving her card to a Muggle friend. "She likes snowmen, and I want to draw one, so that's perfect!"

"Now do we want a border on our cards?" Hermione asked, demonstrating what she meant by cutting out the center of a piece of white paper and gluing it to the face of her folded up red piece.

"Oh, I like that!" Kamari squealed. "Can you make me one?" She pulled out a dark blue sheet and held it out for Hermione.

"I can do it," Malfoy offered, seeing that Hermione was making little doodles on her white bordering.

"Okay! Thank you!"

Malfoy carefully did what Hermione had done and helped Kamari glue on her border.

"It's pretty!" Kamari said happily.

"It is!" Hermione complimented. "Now you draw your snowman."

They all got busy designing the front of their cards. Hermione attempted to draw Rudolph, a character that the wizarding world didn't acknowledge, knowing that Luna would like the story. With a black marker, she scattered the words, " _Rudolph, with your nose so bright, won't you guide my sleigh tonight?_ "

"Hey, you drew Rudolph!" Kamari exclaimed after she stole a glance at Hermione's work.

"Yeah, I think Luna will enjoy the story." She and Kamari then told Malfoy Rudolph's story. He laughed at the idea of a red-nosed reindeer.

"Wow! Are you an artist?!"

Upon Kamari's question to Malfoy, Hermione looked at Malfoy's card, widening her eyes at what he had drawn. It appeared the man had amazing talent. He had drawn a pond in a winter setting with a small family ice skating on the frozen water.

"That's pretty good," Hermione complimented him.

Malfoy shrugged. "I draw occasionally."

"You're _really_ good!" Kamari stressed.

He smiled. "Thank you. Your snowman is lovely."

"What, this?" She waved off her drawing. "It's nothing like yours!"

"If you practice drawing, you could enhance your talent," Hermione advised her.

"Yes, but I have no calling to be an artist," the girl said pointedly, concentrating on colouring the carrot-nose.

"Then what is your calling?" Hermione wondered.

Kamari rolled her eyes. "I'm six, I'm lucky I can even tie my shoes!"

Both Hermione and Malfoy laughed, and that only made Kamari giggle. "Maybe I'll be a comedian!" she joked.

Kamari had to make three more cards after finishing the first one. Hermione noticed after a while that the girl had gone quiet and realized that Kamari was resting her head on the desk.

"I think she's asleep," Hermione told Malfoy softly. The man stretched up taller for a better look, and he nodded a confirmation.

"She hasn't been sleeping well," Hermione informed regrettably. "She's was up half the night."

"Should we move her to a bed?" Malfoy offered. "She'll wake up with a crick in neck if she stays like that."

Hermione shrugged slightly. "If it's no bother."

Malfoy gently lifted the girl up into his arms, being careful not to wake her. He looked at Kamari's sleeping face, and a soft smile came to his lips.

"Will you get the door, please?" he asked, speaking about the door that was currently shutting them up in the office.

Together, they tucked Kamari in an over-sized bed of a room that Malfoy had chosen close by. Neither were eager to leave her alone.

"Should we stay here?" Malfoy wondered.

Hermione scrunched her lips together in thought. "I feel that you and I should discuss what the plan is, and preferably out of her earshot," she whispered.

He nodded reluctantly. "I suppose you're right."

They returned back to the office and cleaned up the art supplies. When the Christmas cards were spread out on the desk to dry, Malfoy asked if Hermione wanted a beverage.

"Well," she said, "a hot tea would be nice."

Malfoy called upon a house elf named Trusty. "Would you mind bringing us a tea tray please?"

The elf bowed low. "Of course, sir."

"He's been freed," Malfoy explained before Hermione could express her thoughts on him using slave labour.

"But you still don't pay the elves," she said with a huff. "And that doesn't dismiss the rest of the elves that you… _own_."

"I would prefer if we could just not speak about this subject right now," Malfoy told her bluntly. "I've had a very lovely day so far, and I'd rather it not be ruined by such a trivial subject."

Hermione crossed her arms. "Slave labour is hardly trivial!"

Malfoy raised his eyebrows. "I'm fairly certain you said that you wanted to speak about Kamari, am I right?"

"You are," she muttered.

"Then let's do, please."

"I want to know what you'd like to do about your daughter," Hermione began, deciding that it was better to drop the topic— for now.

"She is a darling child," he admitted, sitting down in one of the desk chairs. He spun it in a semi-circle, going side to side, thinking. "I have the room and finances, obviously. And my mother is going to _flip_ when she learns about her granddaughter— in a good way, of course."

"I feel that there is a but coming," Hermione said suspiciously.

"A girl needs a mother, naturally."

"Oh, that's not exactly true. Many girls are raised by their single fathers."

"At the very least, I _want_ my daughter to have a mother figure."

"Well, you did say your mother visits from time to time," Hermione pointed out.

Malfoy rubbed his chin. "Mother spent most of her life doting on others for many years. She is spending her current years making herself happy. I'd rather not concern her. I'm certainly capable of handling this whole thing without her help."

Hermione lifted up an eyebrow, somewhat surprised by his autonomy. She never thought that he could handle things on his own.

Trusty came with their tea then which was paired up with some fancy-looking sandwiches.

"Thank you," Hermione said, pouring hot water into a dark green teacup. She watched the elf prepare Malfoy's tea and hand it off to him.

"Much appreciated, Trusty. You may leave now." And the elf bowed before he made an exit.

"So, what are you going to do to give Kamari a mother?" Hermione wondered, choosing to ignore what had just happened between Malfoy and the elf (Malfoy couldn't even serve his own _tea_?!). "Start looking for a wife?" She wrinkled her nose over the idea. Not like it was any of her business, but she didn't believe in marrying for any reason besides love. Naturally, such a thing wasn't abnormal for a Malfoy though. From what she understood, every Malfoy up until Draco had had an arranged marriage.

"Actually, no. Marriage isn't in my future. Which is why getting Kamari a motherly figure is a concern for me. "

"But then how are you going to achieve this, if you do not intend to wed?"

"It is a wizard's tradition to give a child each a godfather and a godmother."

Hermione nodded, understanding his plan. "That works. Do you have a person decided yet?"

"I do. You."

Hermione choked on her tea. The blasted man had to say that just as she was sipping her drink. "Excuse," _cough_ "me?"

"Yes, you. I want you to be Kamari's godmother."

Hermione blinked. She was stunned. It was like he had stupefied her. After a few moments of silence, she realized that he was waiting for her to verbally response to his announcement.

She cleared her throat. "Um…"

What was she supposed to say? For _years_ , this man had treated her poorly, and until just this morning, she had no idea that he could be anything more than just an immature _twit_. But in just a few, short hours, the man had proven that he had a different side to him. Malfoy was patient and thoughtful, and quite more independent than he had ever publicly shown in his lifetime.

Hermione couldn't blame him for wanting Kamari to have a mother, especially when that's all the girl had ever had, but out of all the people he knew, he was choosing _her?_ They weren't even _friends_!

"Alright," she said slowly, inhaling a breath. "If I may ask— _why_ have you chosen _me_?"

"For several reasons," he said as if the answer to her question was completely obvious. "You're highly intelligent, and I'd want my daughter to be extremely knowledgeable. You stand up for what you believe in. You are a strong, positive female of which I can only _hope_ that Kamari could even absorb an _ounce_ of from you. And my most important reasoning is this: I can see the bond that you two have formed. I'm not sure it would be right to separate the two of you. With what she is currently having to deal with, I'm afraid it might traumatize her. It would do Kamari good if she knew that you could be sort of like an adopted mother to her."

Hermione pressed her lips together. His words brought a sting of tears to her eyes, and she dabbed the corners of them.

"Are you alright?" Malfoy asked after hearing her sniff. He leaned forward, snatching a holiday themed napkin and held it out for her to take.

She laughed, embarrassed with herself. "Yes," she assured him, wiping her nose with his offering. "I'm just in shock, Malfoy. Your thoughtfulness completely amazes me."

"Does that mean you accept my proposal?"

Hermione pressed the napkin to her teary eyes, thinking. It wasn't like the godmother status was new to her, she was the godmother to Harry's children, but those children had a mother to care for them, and so Hermione was more like an aunt to them. With Kamari though, Hermione would be incredibly more active in the role. She didn't have a problem with that, in fact, she actually quite liked the idea. Hermione had thought about having children of her own for a while now, but like Malfoy, she also felt that children should have both a mother and a father, and she had never met the perfect man to marry.

If Hermione was really Kamari's godmother, it would mean that she and Malfoy would be raising the girl together. Could they actually be a team? Maybe. It was too soon to tell though. They got along alright today, but Kamari would be a lifelong commitment.

"Don't you think it's too soon to make such a decision?"

Malfoy gave a tilt to his head. "It barely took me overnight to decide that my daughter needs a home."

Hermione inhaled deeply. He made a good point.

"I'm just not certain if you know what it means if I am her godmother. You and I would be co-parenting, or rather, that's the impression I am getting from you."

"We're adults. We can certainly work things out."

"Well, I feel before we make anything definite, we should see if we can get along for more than just a day. Wouldn't you agree? I would hate for Kamari to get attached, only to have us part our ways."

"I understand," Malfoy acknowledged, nodding. "We could give it some time. Like perhaps a trial run? Something around a few months?"

"I wasn't thinking quite that long."

"How long were you thinking?"

Hermione folded her hands together, and gave it a small thought. "How about, until the new year?"

"That's only ten days," Malfoy said with a raise of his eyebrows. "I expected you would want a little more time than that."

"Kamari really doesn't have a lot of time. If this doesn't work, what will you do? Will you still raise your daughter as a single father?" she questioned.

He was silent for a moment, and he lifted up his shoulder. "I don't have any doubts that we can't work together."

Now it was her turn to raise her eyebrows. "You really think we could get along for the _rest_ of our _lives_?"

Malfoy leaned forward with a grin. "We've done it for half a day, what's half a century?"

Hermione scoffed. "Like an _incredibly_ long time!"

"You know what I mean. We have our differences, but doesn't everyone? And anyway, I heard that you believe in Christmas miracles."

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Theo talks a bit too much!"

"I happen to also believe in Christmas miracles, though, and I'd wager we'd make an excellent team."

"Is that so?" Hermione couldn't believe what she just heard! They hardly knew each other!

Malfoy's eyes went out of focus, and he leaned back in his chair. "Yeah," he said slowly, deep in thought. "You know, everything happens for a reason."

Hermione studied him for a moment, wondering what was going on inside his head. He seemed a little... well she wasn't sure what exactly. Perhaps... sad? Depressed? She thought to ask him, but she didn't want to pry. Malfoy would surely tell her if he wanted her to know.

"So, you will decide at the New Year then?"

Hermione nodded. "Yes, but you still haven't answered my question; if I decline your offer, are you still going to keep Kamari?"

Hermione watched as the man's jaw tightened. His lips pressed firmly together, and he took a drink of his tea (likely a way to stall his answering) before he said, "You won't decline."

"How can you be so sure?"

He sipped at his tea again before a small smile displayed on his face. "Because, you already love that precious, little child."

She couldn't argue with that, but it didn't mean that she would put herself and Kamari through a mess if their arrangement wouldn't work out.

"I have the perfect way to test our compatibility as partners," he announced.

"What's your idea?"

"You and Kamari can stay here for the duration of the holiday."


	5. Five

Hermione momentary couldn't speak. Malfoy's offer of having her stay over for the holiday had stunned her.

"Look, it's just for a few days," he said gently when she didn't make an immediate response. "I'm sure if we can manage a week in close proximity, a lifetime in separate living quarters shouldn't be a major issue."

"I'm not sure we can even last a week without killing each other," Hermione admitted. She laughed to herself at the insane idea of them being under the same roof for that long.

Malfoy shrugged. "We've lasted today."

"Yes, and when the topic of elf slavery comes up, what do you think is going to happen?" she asked firmly. "Because Kamari likely isn't going to accept elf labour either, and that's a subject you can't just toss aside for decades."

Malfoy sighed and set a foot onto his knee. "Well, you may as well know…" he started hesitantly. "But you can't tell _anyone_ …"

Hermione tilted her head, giving him an odd look. What could he be hiding that he wouldn't want the world knowing? "If you've broken some law—"

"I _haven't_!" he shot out defensively. He closed his eyes, taking in a breath. "Everyone is so quick to assume I've done something wrong!"

"I apologize," Hermione told him softly, making his eyes open.

He heaved out his breath of air. "It's hardly unreasonable to think that someone with my surname is up to something, but it just gets _old_. People _search_ to find any reason to put me in Azkaban!" He shook his head and abruptly stood up. "I should just call this all off!"

Hermione joined him, uprooting from her seat. " _What_?! You _can't_! She _needs_ you!"

He pressed a palm to his forehead. "This is why I wanted to stop the bloodline! Everyone is going to assume the same thing with my daughter! I can't let her grow up with people thinking that she's up to no good! They did it with _me_ ; hell, my own _mother_ must travel the globe with a different name and _appearance_ just to get _peace_."

Hermione's jaw tightened, and she felt a brick hit her gut. "Merlin," she whispered. "I had no idea."

"Well, why would anyone care?!" he bellowed out. "It's just the dirty, old Malfoy family! All we are is up to no good!" He was breathing hard now, and he had his back to her.

Hermione frowned and quietly walked up to him, setting a hand to his shoulder. He jumped at the unexpected touch and whirled around to face her with wide eyes.

"I'm deeply sorry," she told him in a whisper, unable to find her voice. "I never realized how judgemental people were with your family."

Malfoy grunted, eyes shifting down to his feet. "No one cares to notice!"

"Well, I care," she said firmly, finding her voice. "And I promise that I'll won't make another ill assumption of you again."

He lifted up his head so that their eyes could meet, and Hermione barely caught it, but there was a hint of a smile on his face. "I would very much appreciate that," he said gratefully.

She nodded, suddenly uncomfortable with the silence that was now hovering in the room. She scratched at her arm.

"I don't own the elves," Malfoy informed, and he chuckled at her shocked facial expression. "You're surprised, huh?"

"I'd be lying if I said no!" She laughed. "So what are they doing here then?"

"After my father died, their ownership transferred to Mother. She obviously didn't want to stay in the area, so she kept one for her traveling needs and left me the rest. I set them all free and opened up a secret asylum for every house elf that may be in need. They are free to live here, and they even have their own wing." Malfoy waved his hand off in the direction of their wing. "The only one who knows is my mother, and now you, of course."

"Didn't they get upset with being freed?" Though Hermione was against elf slavery, she knew that elves felt they had a duty to their masters— elves were brainwashed to believe that it was completely dishonorable to have their master free them.

"Naturally a couple were upset, but most were happy to be released from the dungeon—"

Hermione gasped. "The _dungeon_!?"

Malfoy gave her a look. "Where do you think my father put the elves who weren't up to his standards?"

"Oh, how _horrid_!"

Malfoy's eyes went out of focus. "I wont tell you how many died in those cells…"

Hermione swallowed hard, fighting back tears. "How could anyone be so _cruel_?!"

Malfoy shook his head, as if ridding his mind of terrifying memories. "The imprisoned ones are those who were most grateful of my freeing, and it is because of them that I let them have their asylum in secret. They can't live out there without shame and humility, but here…" he paused with a small smile of comfort. "Here they can live a peaceful life, free from judgement."

"That's incredibly generous of you." Hermione was impressed with his kindness.

Malfoy shrugged. "Sometimes I feel that it's not enough, what with how my father treated them, but there's not too much I can do about what he did."

Hermione sent him a sympathetic smile. "Malfoy, obviously you're not like your father, so there's no reason to live in guilt, especially since you're making changes."

"I understand what you're saying, Granger, but," he paused, sighing, "you can't help what you feel."

Hermione nodded, and she went quiet, unsure what else she could say to make him feel better about himself. "Well, just so you know, I think you're doing a great job— not like my opinion matters any."

Malfoy chuckled. "You'd actually be surprised on how much I believe that your opinion matters, Granger."

She laughed. "I probably would!"

"You remember S.P.E.W.?"

"Of course I remember S.P.E.W.!" Hermione groaned. " _Everyone_ hated that!"

"It was such a horrid name!" Malfoy said through a laugh.

"Eh, it had such a great cause though."

"Yes," he agreed slowly. "It was you who made me question our treatment on creatures, elves especially."

Hermione's eyes widened. "Really?"

He shrugged. "You've changed me, Granger, I just didn't want to admit it. I _couldn't_ admit it. Not without ridicule anyway. I was never brave enough to stand up for anything I truly believed in. I only _mirrored_ those around me, and, well, I chose the wrong people to reflect on..."

"You're brave now, and that's all that matters," she told him. "All we can do is try and do better, and you have."

"Can I show you something?" Malfoy asked suddenly.

"I suppose so?" she permitted cautiously, wondering what it could possibly be that he wanted to share with her.

Malfoy lead Hermione out of the office, and they checked on the still-sleeping-Kamari real quick before they went up a flight of stairs. He stopped at a door after a long walk halfway down a corridor. He opened the door revealing a massive-sized room decorated in a beautiful red and gold colour scheme. The walls were gold with a reddish runner, the floor was carpeted in a dark red, and the four poster bed (the posts looked to be made out of _actual_ gold!) had a red and gold checkered wide bedspread neatly placed on it. The furniture had been painted various shades of red and gold, and the curtains were gold with red lace and holdbacks.

"What do you think?" Malfoy asked after she had wandered around the gigantic room for a thorough look.

"It's gorgeous! It's like a five-star hotel suite!"

"If you decide to stay over the holiday, this will be the room you can use."

"Oh, come now, don't you have anything less… elegant?"

"You'd prefer a dungeon cell then?"

Hermione laughed at his joke. "I just mean, it's so… well, I've never slept in such a nice room. It's a little out of place for me."

Malfoy shrugged. "It's only for a week, consider it a free holiday vacation. It'll come with room service— _if_ you'd like," he added the last after she narrowed her eyes a little, knowing exactly what he meant with the offer of room service.

Hermione chewed on the inside of her cheek, thinking. "I couldn't leave Crookshanks… he's so old…"

"He's your cat, right?" Malfoy asked. "Bring him along, I won't mind."

"You really are accommodating, you know," she complimented with a smile.

"I want to make sure Kamari has a smooth transition, and I believe that you'll be an excellent help with the process."

"Alright," Hermione finally decided, feeling that Malfoy was doing a wonderful job in showing her that he could be a good father. "I'll stay until the New Year's."

Malfoy couldn't contain a smile, it grew so wide, Hermione thought his face would split! "That's great. And I promise, I'll be on my best behavior!"

She laughed. "I promise too."

"We should make some plans to do as a family," he suggested with a thoughtful look.

"As a family?" she questioned, confused.

"If this works, we'll be a family, Granger. We may not be a conventional one, but we will still be family."

Hermione's became lightheaded over his words. This just didn't seem like Malfoy at all. Given his history with her, he appeared a whole different man right now. It was a strange feeling for her. Just yesterday, he was literally the most repulsive person that she knew.

But then again, it was only moments ago when Malfoy told her that he had admired her when they were young, he just hadn't had the guts to say so.

"Are you rethinking your decision?" Malfoy interrupted her thoughts. His eyebrows were pressed together in worry. "I know this is happening quicker than you'd like, but… well, I'm going to need help, Granger, and Merlin knows you're the best person for the position..."

"Malfoy," she started sternly. "If we're going to consider each other family, we _cannot_ keep calling each other by our surnames, alright?"

His face relaxed some, and he let out a sigh of relief. "Sure thing, Hermione!"

The two shared a smile before they went back down to the first level where they could keep a better eye on their ward.

Kamari wasn't in the bed when they returned to the room that she had been left in. Hermione and Draco were instead greeted with the sounds of whimpers coming from the adjoining bathroom. The two hurried to the closed door, fearing that she had hurt herself.

"Kamari?" Hermione called out, smacking on the door.

Draco removed his wand and unlocked it. "We're coming in!" he announced.

The girl was found standing at the sink with puffy, red eyes. She saw Hermione and ran to her, sobbing.

"I want my mummy!"

"I know, precious, I know." Hermione pressed her cheek to Kamari's head, hugging her close.

Draco stood nearby, unsure what he could do to help comfort the girl. He hesitantly put his hand to her back, patting it gently. Hermione gave him an encouraging smile.

"Are you hungry?" she murmured to the child when her cries softened.

Kamari nodded slowly. She sniffed. "I want noodies and cheese."

"I think we can manage that."

*/*

"So we get to spend Christmas _here_?!" Kamari squealed later at dinner. She had just been told that they'd be staying at Malfoy Manor for the holiday, and she was excited over the thought. So excited that she had forgotten about her plate of food. "Where will we sleep? Can I bring my things with me? Will Crookshanks get to come too?"

Draco laughed. He sat in a chair across from her at the small table in the kitchen. Apparently, the Malfoys usually ate in their dining room, but it was incredibly huge, and Hermione felt more comfortable at the oval-shaped table that could only seat five.

"You can have your pick of any room that you want, Kamari."

"I want to sleep in Hermione's room," Kamari declared before taking a bite of her noodle dish.

"My bed is certainly big enough." Just the same, Hermione frowned slightly. It wouldn't be long before Kamari couldn't share a room with her. Hermione wouldn't be able to stay at the Manor forever.

"And I'll bring Crookshanks over tomorrow," she informed Kamari who approved with a nod.

"You know what," Draco started, standing abruptly from his seat. "I've got a wicked idea." His grey eyes were lit up brightly. "I'm going out for a while, but when I return, I'm going to bring back something that I'm sure you two will absolutely love!"

"What is it?!" Kamari demanded, shaking with joy. "What are you going to get us?!"

"It's a secret!" he whispered playfully. "You can't know, or it'd ruin the surprise!"

"When should we expect you back?" Hermione wondered.

"Hopefully not too long, but I'm easily distracted when I go into shops. I just love Christmas!"

"You know what we should do? Hermione asked Kamari after Draco had left and the girl had finished her dinner.

Kamari shook her head, and then she shrugged. "What?"

"Draco likes Quidditch—do you remember Quidditch?"

"Yeah! I _love_ Quidditch! I've got a book about Quidditch!"

"When we were in school, he played the Seeker. I think we should make him a golden Snitch ornament!"

Kamari gasped out in delight. "Yes!" She leaped out of her chair. "I think that's a great idea Hermione, but you'll have to help me, because I don't know how to make one!"

Hermione had no problem with that. She had seen Harry make one for each of his children, and it had seemed relatively simple: gluing a couple of handmade wings to a Christmas baulb. So for the next hour, they made Draco's Snitch ornament (getting the correct shape of the wings was far more complicated than Hermione had originally thought), and by the time they were finished, Draco still hadn't returned. Hermione suggested that Kamari make Harry one too, to which Kamari agreed.

By eight o'clock, Kamari was growing bored with crafting, so Hermione decided that they could read a book together.

"Is he here yet?" Kamari asked a while later with a yawn; the reading was putting her to sleep.

"Not yet, precious."

Kamari jumped out of Hermione's lap with wide eyes. "He's not hurt, is he?! Did he die too?!"

"Oh, no, Kamari!" Hermione went to reach out to take her hand, but Kamari took off running out of the sitting room that they had been lounging in. "Kamari, precious! Where are you going?!" She went after girl, chasing her down the corridor.

"He can't go to heaven too! No, he can't!" She stopped at the foyer where they had entered the Manor that morning. Kamari was breathing hard, trying to open the door, but being that the knob was a handleset type, and her hands weren't strong enough to press the latch of it down, she couldn't get it open.

Just right then though, the door opened, and Kamari threw herself against Draco, wrapping her arms around one of his legs tightly. "I thought you had died!" she wailed.

Draco who had been caught off guard momentarily, was puzzled, but when he finally understood what had just happened, he dropped his armload of bags and lifted Kamari up into his arms.

"I'm alright," he assured her, and he carried her in while Hermione grabbed his abandoned sacks. "I don't plan on dying anytime soon."

The girl visibly sighed. "You were gone a long time!" she scolded of him.

"I know, but I got some terrific things. Come, I'll show you!" He set her down and took half of the bags from Hermione. "Let's go to the kitchen!"

"Oh my word," Hermione gasped when the bags had been thoroughly emptied. "There are _so_ many sweets here!"

"Ah, but it's not for eating," Draco said, snatching a lolly from Kamari. "Not yet anyway," he added when the girl pouted.

"If we're not going to _eat_ it, what _are_ we going to do with it?" Kamari asked impatiently.

"We're going to decorate with it!"

Kamari jumped up and down. "Cookies?" she shrieked.

Draco leaned down to boop her nose. "No, you little sugar fairy!" She giggled. "We are going to do something even better! We're going to decorate _gingerbread houses_."

"I've never done that before!" Kamari exclaimed.

"Never?" Draco was surprised.

Kamari shook her head. "Nope! But it sounds like a lot of fun!"

"I do one every year," he told her. "But we have to bake the gingerbread first, so we don't get to decorate tonight, _but_ —" he stressed when Kamari appeared to be extremely disappointed over that, "— that just means that we get all night to think about what we want do for decorating!" He then showed Kamari some tricks to do with the varius of sweets that he had learned over the years of his tradition.

After Kamari was tucked in bed for the night, Draco and Hermione got to work on the gingerbread. Draco was an expert when it came to baking the gingerbread. Hermione expressed her surprise in this.

"I was only allowed to bake during the holidays as a child. Besides that, it was deeply considered house elf's work. I find it a lot of fun though, but decorating with food is the most delightful part.

"These are beautiful!" Hermione breathed out when the pieces had been set out to cool. Draco had placed a hard sweet in all of the holes that had been made for the windows, and the heat of the oven had melted the sweets, making it look like coloured glass.

"Neat little thing I learned from my grandmother when I was six," he informed proudly.

Hermione actually went to bed slightly excited that night. Like Kamari, she had never decorated a gingerbread house, and Kamari was going to love it, which warmed Hermione heart. That little girl needed a lot of joy for the moment.

*/*

Kamari didn't even want to have breakfast the next morning after she seen the houses that Draco and Hermione had assembled. She was eager to get started with decorating!

"Ah, we must eat first," Draco said, though he was also quite excited to begin.

As they ate their breakfast, the three talked about what they were going to do with their houses. Kamari wanted to make a tree from a sugar cone and green frosting. Hermione wanted to use licorice whips (one of her favourite sweets) as garland for the rafters of her house. And Draco wanted a fence made out of candy canes.

Finally they could start their artistic creations, and it wasn't long before candy and sweets had been spread out (by colour, per Hermione's request). Kamari was covered in icing in no time, and she even had green sugar dust stuck to one wrist. None of them minded the mess though, too engrossed in their project.

That was until one Mrs. Malfoy walked in on the scene.

"May I ask who your guests are, Draco?"

The three of them yelped in unison, having not expected her presence. She stood at the doorway, as if reluctant to move any closer, wearing a purple and black fur hat with a matching fur coat.

"Mother!" Draco gasped out, tapping his chest with his hand. "Merlin! I hadn't expect you for another two days!" He left his chair to elegantly peck his lips to her cheek.

The woman's black eyes were set firm on little Kamari who watched with interest.

"Draco," she drawled slowly, still staring at the child. "A word, if you will." She then stiffly turned on her heel, and walked out, her shoes clanking against the floor as she departed— something Hermione realized that she hadn't heard before when Mrs. Malfoy had entered the kitchen.

Draco sucked in a breath. He and Hermione shared a look before he went after his mother.

"I think he's in trouble," Kamari told Hermione, going back to delicately place a green peppermint to the roof of her house.

"Me too…"

"I wonder what he did wrong?"

"I'm not sure, precious…" Hermione thought it was strange that the woman had kept staring at Kamari. She wondered what was wrong with having a child in the home. Was she afraid things were going to get broken? Hermione wasn't for certain, but she hoped that Mrs. Malfoy would grow fond of Kamari. After all, Draco _had_ told Hermione that his mother would love the idea of a grandchild.

But maybe she'd be against an _illegitimate_ child, which had never occurred to either Draco nor Hermione.

Hermione nibbled on the bottom of her lip, suddenly very worried for Kamari's future.


	6. Six

When Draco returned to the kitchen, his mother was accompanying him. He sat next to Hermione, and Mrs. Malfoy had taken his previous seat that had been across the table. Now Kamari was sandwiched between the two women.

Silently, with just her eyes, Hermione questioned Draco on how it went. She was pretty sure that the man had told his mother the truth about Kamari, since the older woman decided to sit next to her granddaughter.

He shrugged a reply, then Draco leaned toward Hermione and murmured, "She's delighted. Says she has my father's eyes, but is a bit unhappy that it was done unconventionally. "

Hermione nodded, understanding Mrs. Malfoy's concerns.

"Kamari, this is my mother, Mrs. Malfoy," Draco introduced. His mother gave him a dark look, and Hermione wondered if perhaps the woman was more upset that she couldn't be introduced as the girl's grandmother.

"Hi, would you like to decorate with us? We can share mine."

Mrs. Malfoy's look immediately softened, and she smiled with watery eyes. "I would love that, thank you," she managed with a crack in her voice.

Draco nudged Hermione in the ribs with his elbow. He was displaying a large, gloating grin, as if telling Hermione that he had told her so; Mrs. Malfoy positively turned to mush at the sound of her granddaughter's voice.

Neither Hermione nor Draco paid much attention to their own gingerbread houses at this point, they merely pretended to be interested with the activity. They found the forming bond between Kamari and Mrs. Malfoy much more entertaining. The elder woman was practically a professional at decorating, having done it for many years, so she was able to greatly help the six-year-old. And Kamari was eager to learn what could be taught, expressing her delight in the neat things that Mrs. Malfoy could design with just candy and icing.

"Oh, it's just beautiful!" Mrs. Malfoy gawked at their work when it was finished. They had gone with a green and white theme, in honor of the Slytherin house.

"I remember doing that theme after I had been sorted into Slytherin," Draco reminisced.

"Do you think that _I_ will get to go to Hogwarts?" Kamari asked.

"Well, of course you'll go, why wouldn't you?" Mrs. Malfoy questioned.

"I don't have magic yet," the girl replied indifferently.

"You're still quite young," Hermione assured the girl.

When the houses were put onto a shelf for display, Mrs. Malfoy offered to show Kamari around her garden. The girl learned that there were also horses, so she was eager to see them too. Hermione and Draco watched the two disappear into the magnificent garden, where they were left to themselves.

"When will you tell Kamari?" Hermione asked of him, staring off into the distance.

"Tell her what?"

Hermione yanked her eyes away from the beautiful landscaping. "That you're her father," she answered bluntly.

"I don't intend to."

Hermione set her jaw. "Don't you think she deserves to know?"

Draco met her eyes, and he reached out to take her hand. "I think it's best for everyone involved that I just pretend to adopt her and be done with it."

Hermione shook her head, unhappy with that idea. She slipped out of his hand and folded her arms across her chest. " You're afraid of society dragging your name through the mud!"

His lips thinned. "Now you promised you wouldn't make such wild assumptions of me," he reminded her firmly.

Hermione sighed. "Help me understand why you don't want to claim that _precious_ child as your own!" Tears flooded her eyes, frustrated with the man. _Why_?! _Why_ would he do this?!

"Don't you think she will be much more happier with an adoption rather than learning that I'm her father— the father who hasn't been in her life until recently?"

"I don't think she'll give a flip! I think she'll care more when she finds out that you've lied to her! She'll find out Draco, they _always_ find out!"

"Look, she'll want me to talk stories about her mother, and I don't have many to tell! We really didn't know each other besides just a quick hello and good-bye!"

"It was a wham bam, thank you ma'am kind of thing," Hermione summarized with a chastised look.

Draco laughed. "Actually, it's much more amusing than that—"

"Knocking a woman up on the first and only date is hardly amusing."

Draco touched a finger to her lips. "As much as I find you adorable in a flustered mess—"

Hermione gasped, stepping back. She lifted up her finger. " _Excuse_ me, but don't you _dare_ try to flatter me!" She pressed her fingers to where his touch lingered. Her lips were tingling, and something flopped around in her stomach. She stiffened, realizing what was happening. Hermione narrowed her eyes at him.

"Now, you hear this, Draco Malfoy, you and I are just to be friends, you hear! Nothing more! I won't have that little girl's life ruined because we can't control ourselves as responsible adults!"

Draco's eyebrows raised up, a slow smirk pulled to his lips. "You felt something when I touched you, didn't you?"

Hermione huffed. "No!" she denied.

Draco clicked his tongue. "I don't know, Hermione, you're awfully on the defensive."

"Oh, just— you—" she stammered around, unable to think. She tossed her hands up, puffing out breaths of visible air, making him chuckle in absolute amusement. "Go to bloody hell!" she snapped and scurried away. It was incredibly cold out, but her face was so hot with embarrassment.

Up in her room, she couldn't get the thought of her tingling lips out of her head. Surely it was the effect of the cold weather that had caused it to happen? But then why would her stomach also react the way it had?

She flung herself onto the bed with a groan, pressing a pillow to her face. She could just _die_ right now!

"I've brought you something," Draco could be heard saying from the doorway of her room. Apparently, she had forgotten to shut it.

Dramatically, she removed the pillow from her face to see that he was holding onto a tiny plant.

"You're such a twit!" she shrieked out, throwing the pillow at him. Draco laughed as the mistletoe fell to the floor at his feet. "I hate you so much! Do you at all realize how _immature_ you can be?!"

"Oh come now, it was just a joke," Draco said, stepping into the room. His tone turned serious. "We need to talk."

"No we don't."

"I was trying to tell you something before your head took a left turn."

Hermione sat up with a grunt. She couldn't look at him, too embarrassed over what had happened.

"I'll keep my hands to myself, if that'll make you feel better."

She reluctantly lifted her eyes up to brave looking at him.

 _It's only cause it's been a while since a man has touched you,_ she reasoned with herself.

It made the most sense anyway.

Shoving aside the thought of her pulsing heart, she gestured Draco to begin.

"One night, several years ago, me and a friend of mine had too many drinks. We were looking at this Muggle magazine, making fun of it, of course, and we learned about this thing called a fertility clinic. Apparently, men could… _make a donation_ , and Muggle women would look through catalogues of those _donations_ , and eventually pick one to match her preference. Well, naturally, being young men, we just had to do it! We never thought our answers to the Muggle questions would be chosen. I mean, what Muggle woman would deem a broom as the best choice of transportation?"

"But it wasn't a Muggle woman who chose your donation," Hermione said quickly, realizing what he was saying. "No wonder you were so upset when I accused you of a one-night-stand!"

He lifted up a shoulder. "It was such a _dumb_ thing to do, but who would have thought?" he laughed uneasily.

"Gosh, I'm so sorry," she said truthfully, standing from the bed. She stepped toward him and took his hand, squeezing it apologetically.

Their eyes met and locked in for what seemed like an eternity before he cleared his throat and separated from her. "Responsible adults," he reminded her hoarsely.

She nodded an affirmation. "Right," Hermione agreed, placing her hands behind her back. A heat rose to her cheeks, and she quickly looked away, hoping her face wasn't as red as it was hot.

"I'll, um," he let out a cough, "so, I'm just going to leave you at it."

"Don't forget your mistletoe."

*/*

"Are all these for _me_?" Kamari squeaked out on Christmas morning when she saw all the gifts that had been tucked under the tree at the last minute. The three grown adults had spent the last two days wrapping all sorts of things that they hoped the girl would love.

Mrs. Malfoy was just as accommodating as her son, and she was quickly warming up to Hermione. Draco had informed his mother of Hermione's position in Kamari's life, and the elder woman hadn't expressed her opinion either way.

Well, as far as Hermione knew.

Draco and Hermione only communicated when they needed to. After that private moment that they had shared, neither felt it was best to get too close, each fearing that something more would happen. Their only focus was to be Kamari.

"Yes, my Kamari," Mrs. Malfoy told her granddaughter with glowing eyes. "This is all for you!"

"Wow, I must be the luckiest orphan!"

The adults shared a look amoung one another, and while Kamari was in absolute smiles, the older bunch suddenly felt down.

"Kamari," Draco spoke up, pulling her attention from her mountain of gifts. "Would you come here for a moment?"

Kamari hurried over to Draco, looking back at her gifts with heavy interest. "What's wrong?" she asked when she noticed that he had become nervous.

Draco took turns looking at the two witches who remained quiet, awaiting to see what he was going to do.

Draco lifted Kamari into his lap. "Would you like to live here?"

"As in, _forever_?"

Draco nodded.

"And you will be my daddy?"

"Indeed."

Kamari turned her head to look at Hermione. "Hermione will be my new mummy?"

"She will be your godmother."

"Like a fairy godmother?"

"Sort of."

"I think Hermione is too young for that." The adults laughed at Kamari's opinion.

"Precious, I'm already a godmother to Harry's children."

Kamari frowned in deep thought. "So you and Draco aren't going to get married?"

"Goodness no," Draco said with an inhale. He and Hermione avoided each other's eyes. "What made you think of that?"

"You like each other, and Hermione would make a good wife and a new mummy. She loves me, and she loves you too."

Mrs. Malfoy chuckled quietly, but not quiet enough for Hermione and Draco to not hear. "Well, don't look and _me_ and say that she's _wrong_!" the woman huffed when she was given dirty looks.

"You should propose to Hermione," Kamari advised Draco in a loud whisper.

Draco stood up and placed his daughter to her feet. He turned from the group, running a hand through his hair.

"Kamari," Hermione started tenderly, finding her voice. Though, the lump that had formed in her throat was threatening to steal her ability to talk. "Draco and I are just friends, precious."

"Hermione," Draco addressed the woman. His back was still facing the rest of them. "I'd like to have a moment with you, please." His tone was stiff, but Hermione could tell that he was also having his own difficulties.

"Maybe we should wait," Hermione suggested, not at all ambitious to be alone with the man. "Kamari has a bucket load of gifts to open."

Kamari folded her arms across her chest. "I can wait," she announced pointedly.

"Go and see what he has to say, Miss. Granger. Don't be a Hippogriff now."

Draco slightly turned to look at his mother who had been the last to speak, his eyes then flicked toward Hermione which met with hers. With jerk of his head, gesturing her to follow him, he left the room.

"Aren't you going to talk with him?" Kamari asked when Hermione hadn't immediately gotten up from her seat. Both the girl and the woman were looking at her with expectation.

"Is my son really so terrible?"

Hermione glanced off at the direction that Draco had gone.

 _No_ , her mind answered Mrs. Malfoy's question. He was actually quite amazing. He could make her laugh, he was sensitive and practically everything negative that she had originally thought of him had been a complete farce! Sure, he could unravel her nerves and press her buttons, but perhaps that was something that she was attracted to. Maybe she didn't mind some of his teasing.

Silently, she stood from the armchair that she had been sitting in and hurried to the room's exit, hoping that Draco hadn't changed his mind.

She breathed out a sigh of relief when she seen his rigid body down the corridor. He was looking at an old painting. She carefully took a few steps toward him, trying to decide rather to call out his name or chicken out, and just as she decided to speak out, he turned around, sensing her presence.

They each walked to one other, their eyes doing all of the communicating, and Hermione's knees suddenly felt like they were weak. Before she knew it, their arms were around each other, and their lips were joined as if they were one. Hermione could taste the hint of peppermint that had clung to him— the last thing that he had eaten had been a candy cane. Her eyes fluttered close, and she allowed herself to be absorbed by the touch of this man.

Then it was over, and she yearned for more, but once their lips had parted, her senses came back into order. Slowly.

"We just—" she stopped herself from denying them the happiness that they could possibly have. Kamari was important, but what if they _could_ make a relationship work?

"Hermione," he took her hand, and she about fainted at the look he had given her. No man had ever looked at her as if she was the only thing that mattered! "I have always admired you, and I won't propose today, as I know you're the type to want a long courtship, but I would appreciate it if you could give this…" he paused, lifting her hand to his lips where he delicately placed a feather of a kiss, " _idea_ chance."

Hermione closed her eyes, suppressing a moan. The touch of his kiss sent shivers throughout her body.

"Kamari," she struggled to say, ignoring her screaming mind that argued with her sense of reality.

"Kamari wants us to be together. Don't you remember? She suggested that we should marry."

"We shouldn't…"

"But do you _want_ to?"

Draco was now running his thumb along the back of her fingers. It was literally driving her mad. She almost screamed out a yes.

"If it doesn't work out, it could damage her."

"And if it _does_ work out?"

Hermione smiled softly at the thought of them together, raising Kamari as her actual mother and father. "It would be a lovely thing," she admitted.

"It's Christmas," Draco whispered encouragingly. "You think we've outdone our Christmas miracles for the year?"

Hermione wrapped his arms around her waist and draped hers over his neck. "I think there's room for one more," she told him, finally giving in. "What's a life without risks?" She laughed softly and pressed her lips to his.

"Wait til my mother hears about _this_!" Draco said, and they shared a laugh.

Then, together, they returned to the room, where they would announce their official relationship.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: Well, that's this year's story! Hope you got some enjoyment out of it! Until next time! Merry Christmas, and may 2020 bring you the happiest and lovely moments of your life!


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